


Painful Love

by SnowySithSam



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Avengers AU, Bruce Banner AU, Bruce Banner imagine, F/M, Fluff, Slow Build, Slow Burn, bruce banner fluff, bruce banner smut, imagine, marvel fluff, marvel smut, mcu - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-16
Updated: 2019-06-28
Packaged: 2020-03-06 10:52:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18849610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnowySithSam/pseuds/SnowySithSam
Summary: When Thor needs help to save the nine realms from an upcoming war, Laussa decides to return from her hiatus after Ragnarok, joining the Avengers in a fight against blazing fire and frigid ice. Only what happens when she gets more and more infatuated with a certain dark-haired scientist and his green alter ego? Will she help him to finally accept, who he is? And what do her mysterious visions about Loki portend?And finally, will all of them together manage to bring peace over the realms again?





	1. Chapter 1

‘That’s it, thank you very much.’ Laussa took off her gloves while she was entering the waiting room, immediately making eye contact with the two elderly women that had been waiting for hours, as she spoke. 

‘The arm isn’t as badly fractured as the X-Ray had made us believe, I’ve set everything back in its proper place, my colleagues here are putting his arm in a cast until it’s all healed off.’ The lady with the long grey hair and the flowy blue dress jumped up with more hope and enthusiasm than anyone in the room had expected, and grabbed her hand in a firm handshake. ‘We’ve also checked for any internal bleeding since we can’t be sure what happened during the accident when his arm was broken, but thankfully there is nothing, so as soon as his arm is healed he should be back to normal.’ The woman pushed a stand of her grey hair behind her ear as her eyes welled up with tears.  
‘Thank you so much, Doctor, you know we really appreciate it, we would be lost without you.’  
The doctor looked back through the open door behind her into the recovery room, seeing the young boy very slowly waking up, trying to move his right arm that was now entirely enclosed in a thick cast, then looked back at the old woman. ‘Thank you for giving me the chance to help them. I couldn’t imagine anything more gratifying. But, of course, you can go see him now if you want to.’

When Laussa entered the laboratory a few hours later, she wasn’t feeling much of that gratitude anymore, all of it being overshadowed by the big headache that had started to overcome her about an hour ago. It was the same almost every time she had had a long work day, and she pinched the bridge of her nose before stepping down a couple of steps into her laboratory, hoping for any type of relief. She quickly washed her hands in the metal sink and pulled her long lab coat over her green shirt, her gaze falling down onto the silver locket on her chest. The pendant hung from a thin, silver chain, and was embossed with delicate details, that she gently let her thumb run over, before carefully opening the silver heart. Her eyes slowly filled with tears as she looked upon the little painting of the two boys that was inside, gripping onto the pendant tighter, the tips of her fingernails turning white from the pressure. There was a little blonde boy, holding up a sword much too big for him confidently as if his life depended on it, and a dark-haired boy next to him, younger, his straight black hair falling in his face that had a content smile plastered on it. She remembered the day as if it had been yesterday…

‘So you’re a doctor now?’ The deep voice echoing through her lab made her jump and knock over a glass on the table next to her, her hands hectically trying to grab it before it slid off the countertop and shattered on the tiled floor with a loud crash. ‘I would have expected a lot from you, but a doctor on Midgard was never something I thought of.’ His powerful steps made the delicate glasses and flasks in her cupboards and on her tables tremble and make tiny clinking noises with every step he took. ‘I help the people no one else will help.’ Laussa muttered to herself, not turning around. She didn’t need to do so to know, who was there. Instead, she quickly snapped the locket closed and swerved to the table closest to her, grabbing gloves and paper towels to wipe up the substance she had spilled over the counter.

‘You know, a simple hello would have been nice. I missed you too, by the way.’ She murmured, throwing the towels in the trash before turning around to the man while taking off the white gloves. The blonde demi-god towered over her, looking so way out of place in her silver, delicate laboratory filled with plants, the world she had built for herself and only ever herself over the past couple of years.

When she finally looked up at his face, he looked exhausted, more so than she’d ever seen him before. His blond hair was flat and greasy, his eyepatch cutting into the dull and grey skin of his face, his puffy eye looking more drained than ever. She knew, the moment she looked into his eyes, that he needed her help, and that she was going to help him, whatever he was to ask of her.

‘Why are you here, Thor?’ Laussa inquired with a resigned expression on her face, watching every movement of his as he stepped another step closer to her, now standing right in front of her. He sighed loudly, before starting to talk. ‘I did miss you, terribly so, Laussa. But you chose to go back to this place, as you always did.’ He said softly, gesturing around the lab, then taking her hands into his, brushing his big thumbs over her knuckles. ‘But I need your help, I wouldn’t have come if it wasn’t important, I know you left for a reason.’

Laussa sighed too, looking down to the ground, clearly enjoying the familiarity of being close to him again after such a long time, and she had already made up her mind.

‘What do you need me to do?’


	2. Chapter 2

‘So what exactly is this building, Thor?’ Laussa asked while stepping into the high-tech elevator, watching him push one of the many digital buttons on the wall. ‘It’s the tower. Most of them reside here, you know, to be close in case there’s any trouble, and to train. I have my own quarters, but I prefer to stay in Asgard.’

The casual use of the familiar name sent shivers down her spine. ‘You mean New Asgard, of course?’ She asked, brushing her long, dark hair out of her face, watching him out of the corner of her eye. ‘Indeed. We’ve managed to build quite a comfortable new home here on Midgard, but I do believe we should leave, find another planet maybe, build a new Asgard somewhere, but you remember what father said: Asgard is not a place, it’s the people.’

There was a long pause as she was debating whether or not to ask something that had troubled her the entire journey to New York. She glanced over to Thor, his confident posture, wearing the same kind of armour he had worn, when she had last seen him, back when…

‘Thor, did… did you…’ She fiddled with her leather jacket’s sleeves for a moment, thinking about a good way to phrase her question. ‘Nevermind.’ Laussa whispered into her own hair, turning away from him to concentrate on the rising floor numbers. 41…42.. A couple of moments of silence passed before Thor asked: ‘What did you mean to ask?’ He turned towards her with a slightly worried expression on his face, her head still tilted towards the metal flooring of the elevator.

‘I… Did you - did you do anything for him? In New Asgard I mean? Do they know he redeemed himself?’ She had to actively concentrate on slowing down her breathing and staying calm while she was talking and listening to his answer.

‘I did, it was the first thing I did. I told everyone about everything he’d done, we built a statue for him. There are paintings of his story and his good deeds all over our temples, and we pray for his eternal bliss in Valhalla every day.’ 56…57. She had to suppress the tears, not wanting to seem weak, focussing on the numbers on the wall again. 68…69…70, and there the elevator stopped, the metal doors sliding open silently. Thor went to take the first step out, but she grabbed him by his arm and turned him back towards her. ‘I… thank you. It means a lot to me.’  
‘As does it to me.’ He placed his hand on her shoulder reassuringly. ’Let’s go, Laussa. I’ll introduce you to the ones you haven’t met yet.’ She smiled through her teary-eyed expression, lifting her head back up. ‘I would argue that none of them have really met me so far, Thor.’ He nodded, deep in thought for a second, before smiling back at her. ‘That might be a good argument. Let me rephrase that then: I’ll introduce you.’

▪

As they entered the grand living room, she was completely overwhelmed by its sheer size and beauty. The whole room was lit by a giant wall of glass on one side of it, through which Laussa could see the beautiful evening sky, tinted orange and pink by the early sunset of the first days of autumn, which also threw dramatic shadows on the ground behind the two men standing there, looking out the giant window, as well as the two other people on one of the red satin sofas that were systematically scattered across the room. There were more armchairs and loveseats surrounding a table and a stunning huge fireplace whose warm and cosy fire cast more dancing shadows onto the rug that spread all the way from one side of the room to the other, where the shiny, modern kitchen stood.

Laussa counted 4 people, recognising only one of them immediately. ‘Stark!.’ Thor exclaimed loudly, so the two men standing by the window, as well as the other two people on the sofa, turned towards them immediately. ‘Here she is, my pride and joy!’ Tony’s slightly annoyed expression changed when he looked at her, a pleasant smile overcoming his features.

Tony Stark looked exactly like the pictures Laussa had seen of him, his dark hair and shaped beard contrasting his tan skin. She noticed his entirely black outfit, black pants, black long sleeved shirt with a Black Sabbath shirt over it, a band which, she was certain, Thor had never heard of in all the time he’d spent on earth.

‘Laussa, it is nice to finally meet you, Muscles here has told us a lot about you! I’m Tony Stark.’ He was still walking towards her as he was speaking, extending his hand towards her as he got closer. ‘Hello Mr. Stark, I know who you are, it’s very nice to meet you, though I am still uncertain of the reasons for this encounter.’ She said, shooting Thor a clearly confused look. Tony’s handshake was strong and he didn’t let go of her for a slightly longer, letting his eyes roam over her for a second. Stark turned to Thor and grumbled at him: ‘You haven’t told her? We’ll explain later.’ Turning away further from her towards Thor, he gave him a friendly clap on the shoulder, and while he was walking past him whispered: ‘You’re one lucky guy, aren’t you?’

Laussa didn’t hear his comment, too preoccupied with the brown-haired man that had stood near the window now coming towards her as well, shaking her hand in a friendly way. ‘Laussa, this is Clint Barton, you might know him as Hawkeye?’ Stark said as Laussa nodded at Barton, before following Stark over to the sofas. There sat two others, a beautiful woman with ginger hair, and a man, sleek and red-skinned, accentuated with gold and silver, a glowing yellow stone adorning his forehead. ‘Over here, Wanda Maximoff and Vision, my own creation.’ Tony said, taking a few steps over to sit on the armrest of one of the velvet sofas, gesturing towards them as they stood up to greet Laussa.‘They kinda have a thing going!’ He whispered over to her: ‘Tony!’ Wanda shouted at him before she stood in front of Laussa and shook her hand. ‘It’s so nice to meet you, Thor constantly talks about you, it’s nice to finally put a face to the name. Vis, come on, say hi!’ She turned around and waved for the android to step closer, as Clint asked:

‘So, are you from Asgard too?’ Before Laussa could express her confusion about that question, she was cut short.

The ding of the elevator opening interrupted their conversation and out came a puzzled looking man in his mid-thirties, wearing a dark blue button-down shirt tucked into his brown trousers underneath his mid-thigh length white lab coat. He was studying a sheet of paper furiously, his other hand up near his head, massaging his temples while his dark brown curly hair fell into his face and over his thin, silver glasses, that framed his face perfectly. Without looking up he started speaking with a raspy voice, that sounded as if he hadn’t talked in a while: ‘Tony, I told FRIDAY I need you down in the lab, but she said you had company so I came up. Look, we’ve made a logical error, we…’ He stopped mid-sentence when he rose his gaze from the piece of paper to remove his glasses, seeing the group standing near the window, and his eyes fell upon her. He took her in completely, her long, dark hair, her fair skin and slim figure and instinctively took a few steps back. ‘I… I - I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.’ His worried expression changed into an even more uncertain one, one of almost regret for having spoken up at all. Laussa let her eyes wander over the undoubtedly attractive stranger, who was now fiddling with the glasses and the paper in his hands, looking down at the ground. ‘No interruption, it’s fine. Come over here, let me introduce you.’ said Thor, and gestured for the man to come closer.

As he hesitantly walked over to them, Vision stared at Laussa for a little while, before shaking her hand as well. ‘You seem familiar.’ He said, cocking his head to the right slightly. She had connected the dots now, knowing, what he was, who he was. ‘You don’t remember me? We’ve known each other for a long time.’ She said, smiling, turning her head around to Tony and the others to give them a short explanation. ‘Thor gave me access to Jarvis for some research I did a while back.’ Vision’s face lit up, and his stern expression finally turned into a most genuine smile. ‘Yes, of course! I apologise, I had never had any access to your visual appearance before. It is very nice to meet you, Doctor.’ ‘Doctor?’ exclaimed Tony and the newly joined man in the lab coat at the same time, and Laussa smiled.

She knew one didn’t expect someone like her to be a doctor, certainly even less to be a woman with more than one PhD. ‘It’s so very nice to meet you too, Vision, and thank you for your help! I have to say, I’ve read about you and the story of your creation, and I am immensely impressed by it. That Dr. Banner of yours must be an absolute genius, Mr. Stark.’ she smiled, moving over to offer her hand to the man from the elevator that had now joined the circle around her. He was still twirling his glasses around in his hands, but now looking at her with a curious expression on his slightly blushing face. ‘Don’t worry about interrupting, Sir, my name is Laussa.’ He took her hand, his soft fingers gently closing around hers, and as she looked up to meet his gaze, she saw that he immediately looked away, trying to avoid eye contact. She still somehow got a glimpse of his beautiful brown eyes, that only ever flickered up for very short moments to meet hers. She let go of his hand when Tony spoke again.

‘That would be that genius Dr. Banner you were talking about.’


	3. Chapter 3

‘That would be that genius Dr. Banner you were talking about.’ _Oh no._ She felt all of her blood rush to her face immediately, she must have looked as red as a tomato, looking down onto the ground in embarrassment for a second, before looking up at Dr. Banner again, not being able to contain her curiosity. _This was THE Dr. Banner? How could she not have guessed?_

She knew the answer to that. She had expected a much older man, one, that looked like someone who didn’t quite take care of themselves because they considered their scientific research more important than anything else, one that was a workaholic to the bone, spending more time in the lab than anywhere else. But now that she knew, now that she was looking, she saw it all in his eyes. The exhaustion, the anguish and the pain.

She quickly shook it off to get back to herself and took his hand again, almost instinctively. ‘You are Dr. Banner? I had no idea, I’m a huge fan of your work, I’ve been following your research for years, especially your writings in the field of biochemistry, I am so honoured to meet you, doctor!’ She spurted out, shaking his hand vigorously, suddenly feeling all the attention on her like she had said something wrong, but noticed the people around them smiling at her. ‘That is very nice of you to say, thank you.’ He murmured shyly, as she let go of his hand again. His gaze was directed at the floor, his fluffy curls brushing over his eyebrows and she could clearly see him blushing before Thor spoke up, almost laughing as he said: ‘I’m not surprised you don’t recognise her, Banner, but you have met before, a couple of years back.’  
Laussa cringed at his words, the topic being something she had hoped he would not bring up, not being something she wanted to talk about at all, let alone in front of all of these strangers. ‘Wha-What do you mean?’ Banner’s expression changed back to utter confusion, his eyes roaming over her once more, visibly convinced he’d never seen her before in his life, only changing for the worse when Thor continued talking.

‘Well, my sister here - ‘

A resounding sound of confusion went around the group, Tony being the first one to say coherent words: ‘Wait a minute, she’s your sister?!’ The confusion on his face proved to her, that they had had absolutely no idea, Clint’s words only confirming her suspicion: ‘What, you never mentioned she was your sister, man! I thought she was your girlfriend or something.’  
Thor now stumbled over his words, his face also bewildered, as he mumbled: ‘What, of course, I did, I must have… Well, maybe I didn’t specifically say it but it was most definitely implied.’ Laussa took a step closer to her brother, laying a hand on his shoulder, effectively silencing him, so she could speak. ‘I understand my brother here has most inappropriately forgotten to mention who I am: My name is Laussa Odinsdottir, I am the daughter of Odin and Frigga, as is he, although I don’t necessarily want to associate myself with Odin, so I’d appreciate it if you would just call me Laussa.’

▪

‘So, why am I here?’ Laussa asked when they had sat down on the velvet sofas, now also joined by Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff, who had also seemed very eager to meet her, also reacting equally confused to finding out she was Thor’s sister and disgusted at the thought of being romantically involved with him. Dr. Banner, who was nervously walking back and forth behind the sofa that Tony, Thor and Wanda were sitting on, was throwing occasional glances at her that she couldn’t quite interpret, but she had the feeling he didn’t really like her, and that she made him uncomfortable. She let her eyes drift back to her brother as he stood up.  
‘Well, let me explain. When Asgard was destroyed by Surtur, he also destroyed the Bifrost, and any chance to access the other realms safely. As you know, father was the king of Asgard before he died, but he also controlled the peace between the nine realms, keeping them controlled and nonviolent. Now, however, Heimdall has recently observed that there are great uproars happening in at least two of the realms, Muspelheim and Jotunheim.’  
She looked away at the mentioning of those two, images flashing up in her head of the icy cold storms in the realms of the frost giants, contrasted by the fiery destruction in Muspelheim.  
‘They both demand new leaders, respectively, after the deaths of Surtur, Laufey and… his son.’ Thor paused, looking at her with worry, waiting for a reaction, and continued when she nodded at him encouragingly. ‘They are seeking new leaders, and once they’ve found them, there will be nothing holding them back from fighting each other, and then the other realms. You know we have to keep them at bay, and you know… You know that you’re the rightful heir to the throne of Muspelheim.’  
Laussa now had her eyes completely glued to the ground, once again trying to control her breathing, trying to understand what her brother was insinuating.

‘What, why is that? I thought you were Odin’s daughter?’ asked Clint in a confused manner, leaning forward and propping up his elbows on his knees. Laussa took another deep breath, closed her eyes for a second, and began explaining.

‘Well, I was born to Odin and Frigga, but I was conceived during a journey our parents took through the space between realms, to which father had previously banished Surtur, the king of Muspelheim, effectively making him my third parent. I got all of my powers from him. Being his only child, I was the heir to the throne of Muspelheim, but father could never allow it. He wanted me on the Asgardian throne, especially after both of my sisters died and Loki…’ She swallowed, feeling the sting of tears in her eyes at the first time saying his name out loud in a while.  
‘After both of our sisters and mother were dead, Thor didn’t want the throne and Loki was… gone, father insisted on me being the new queen of Asgard.  
I detested my father after everything he had done to both my sisters and brothers and I hated being in his presence more every day, so I left again. I didn’t take the throne of Asgard nor did I take the throne of Muspelheim, I left. I came down to earth again, hid myself away, fled into science and research. I’ve stayed here ever since, down in Australia, helping people, animals, studying, researching. I didn’t want anything to do with Asgard, even after father…’ She looked around, her eyes almost automatically seeking out the doctor, who was also fixated on her, now standing completely still. She couldn’t get herself to look him in the eye, her legs almost moving instinctively as she rose from the satin sofa, stepping away from them towards the comforting warmth of the roaring fireplace. Her eyes drifted downwards, fascinated by the intricate moving shadows the fire cast on the white carpet around her, as she finally got back her courage to speak. ‘I couldn’t go back, even after, maybe even especially after father died, I just couldn’t... And then Ragnarok happened and Asgard was destroyed, but after Loki died for me - us - in the battle, it never even occurred to me once to come back and I would never have done so, had you not needed my help, brother.’  
Laussa turned around, away from the flames, back at the group of people watching her intently, focussing on Thor.  
‘So, how can I help?’


	4. Chapter 4

‘We need a way to safely access the other realms again. We need to calm them back down, we don’t need more war, especially if we can prevent it.’ Thor now stood, all eyes on him as he slowly strode back and forth in front of the sofa. ‘Do you remember how father rebuilt the Bifrost after I destroyed it to save Jotunheim?’ Laussa answered hesitantly as she sat back down. ‘You told me about it.’ Thor's eyes were locked on her now, his expression stressed and somewhat helpless.  
‘Do you remember, how he had to use the Tesseract because he alone wasn’t strong enough? I need your help, Laussa, we need to create a new Bifrost, a new, safe way to enter the other realms, to keep them in check.’ She nodded, taking in the new information. ‘How?’ He stopped now, standing still as his gaze drifted through the room. ‘Both our powers combined might be enough, but it’ll take some time.’ She nodded, her head racing with questions, but she’d keep those for later. ‘I understand.’

Thor’s hair fell down onto the back of his shoulders almost dramatically as he turned around to the man still standing behind the sofa, placing his big hand on his shoulder.  
‘Dr. Banner here is going to help us conduct some experiments on how we do this in the best way possible, since we’ve never tried controlling your powers this way.’ Laussa nodded again as the doctor nodded confidently, a small smile on his lips, but it barely made her less nervous. If her mother was here now, she would have reminded her to understand, that this was her role, her destiny to help her brother save the nine realms once more, and she smiled at the thought.

‘So, what exactly are your ‘powers’?’ Tony asked, raising his fingers up in air quotes as he said ‘powers’ in a sort of condescending voice, Natasha interrupting him immediately. ‘Tony, come on.’ ‘What? I’m allowed to ask, am I not?’ Stark leaned back into the sofa, now looking back at Laussa expectantly.  
Laussa’s heartbeat started racing again instantly, but she tried staying calm on the outside. 'It’s alright. Did you never tell them?’ she blurted out towards her brother, who was looking down onto the ground now. ‘I didn’t wanna bring it up.’ he murmured, now avoiding eye contact with her and the others. ‘I could have guessed, I mean they never even knew I was your sister.' she chuckled for a moment, before looking around the room again. 

'Thor, can you - do you have a shield?’ He opened his mouth in response, but was interrupted. ‘I do.’ answered Steve Rogers, motioning to get up, as Thor shook his head. ‘Not that kind, Rogers.’ he said, turning around to Wanda whispering something to her, then giving his sister a thumbs up. Laussa sighed, her hand already buried in her brown leather handbag she had left on the sofa next to Natasha, pulling out a small, plain, inconspicuous rock from the cluttered mess of her bag. She twirled it between her fingers for a second before throwing it across the table to Thor. He caught it expertly and held it in his hand as she shrugged off her leather jacket and walked up to the fireplace once more. 

She took another step forward, taking a deep breath, before extending her right hand forwards and plunging it deep into the core of the roaring fire. Wanda shrieked, and she could hear the other’s surprise as well, especially as she pulled her hand back out after a moment, holding it out for all of them to see.  
Her hand looked unharmed, exactly as it had before, there were no burn marks or any signs of fire touching her in any way, other than the fact that the long sleeve on her green shirt was singed at its hem, still smouldering with the remainders of the heat it had just been exposed to.  
Laussa now turned back around to her audience completely, taking a moment to admire their confused faces. Lifting her left hand up in front of her, making sure all of them could see, then she snapped her fingers to make a huge flame appear in the palm of her hand, growing hotter and hotter every second as the flame grew in size and turned from an orange to yellow to a light blue. She then brought her other hand over her left one, extinguishing the flame by clapping her hands together.  
Taking another deep breath, taking her time preparing for what was about to come, she was interrupted by Steve Rogers.

‘I mean no offense here, but we’ve seen Thor’s powers in action. Is this… all you can do?’ 

Chuckling, Laussa sought out Thor’s attentive eyes, nodded to him, and just as he nodded back, she let go of her inner restraints.

Her head was thrown back, her arms extended away from her body, as she sensed it coming. It felt as if her core was imploding with tremendous power, heat soaring through her, burning through her from the inside out, sending sparks and little flames all around her.  
She felt her skin heat up rapidly, changing its normal soft texture to the rougher leather-like structure, and she knew it was turning red and black all over, as she welcomed the searing pain that shot through her when she felt the thick, black horns piercing the skin of her forehead and the agonizing pulling ache of her fingers growing into long, sharp claws. A horrifying roar of agony rolled through the room, her voice now almost demonic, deep and raspy, her mouth spitting sparks and little flames everywhere with every breath she took.  
When Laussa opened her yellow eyes, her body had risen into the air, suddenly levitating more than 6 feet above the ground, surrounded by a swirling hurricane of fire. As the ball of heat around her, whirling in a circular motion, began to expand further, the dark red symbols of Wanda’s Shield became visible, containing the fire within the bubble around Laussa, as she slowly sank back to the ground. Leaving searing, sizzling black footsteps on the white carpet, she stepped towards the red sofas.  
‘Is this enough for you, Mr. Rogers?’ She growled towards the soldier who was cowering in his seat as she got closer. ‘Y-y-yes.’ Extending her claw-fingered hand towards him he leaned back even further, sinking into the soft pillows with panic in his eyes as she simultaneously reached out her other arm towards her brother, snapping her head towards him in one swift movement, her gigantic black horns only barely missing Steve’s face.  
Laussa saw Thor smiling at her, a sort of pride reflected in his eyes as he thrust the small rock back into her direction, her catching it with ease, stepping a few steps back again, then promptly lifting it up in the air next to her head. She dramatically paused, taking another deep, smoke-inducing breath, before, without warning, stabbing the rock into the left side of her neck, splattering blood on the glass coffee table. Another shriek went through her audience, as the giant tornado behind her now suddenly and rapidly shrunk down, flying towards her and, together with her horns that retracted back into her skull, her skin that shrunk down to the normal human skin, all of the demonic signs that were being pulled into the stone, vanished completely after just a few moments, until at once, everything was quiet.

Laussa dropped to her knees behind the sofa, the stone toppling down onto the ground in front of Steve and Natasha. She quickly snapped her fingers, conjuring up a quick illusion of clothes around her naked body, hidden behind the couch, before standing up and facing all of them.  
There was pin-drop silence. When she found the courage to look up at them, she found most of them staring at her in amazement including Thor, who looked like the proudest big brother she had ever seen. Laussa walked around the sofa slowly, picking up the stone to shove it back into her bag.  
Softly, she put her hand on Rogers’ shoulder reassuringly, who winced in surprise before accepting her touch with a small smile. ‘Sorry about that.’ She said as he nodded up at her, and she took her hand off his strong shoulder, feeling relieved.

‘Wow, that was impressive, Laussa. Very glad, Thor NEVER told us about you, you could have been of some help in certain cases.’ All heads snapped towards Tony as he broke the silence while standing up, Clint trying to calm him down without hesitation. ‘Tony, don’t.’ ‘What, is it not true? She could have made things so much easier, look at her!’ Thor now stood up as well, his arms crossed over his chest. ‘I would never put my sister in any danger, especially if there are other ways.’ ‘Oh, and there were other ways? She could have helped us so much in New York, or in - ‘ Thor’s eyes flashed angrily and he rose his voice considerably: ‘Oh, in New York? Against her own brother?’ 

Had she heard the discussion, that was unfolding next to her, she would have most definitely interjected, but she was distracted. When Tony had started talking, she had noticed Banner eyeing her with a glint of amazement in his expression and a small smile on his lips, then suddenly turning away from her, hurrying towards the elevator, unnoticed by the others in the room who were now so deeply involved in their dispute.

She had seen it nevertheless, had seen it before he turned away, had let her eyes roam over his figure, taking in his tense posture, his intriguing, mysterious facial expression and the dark green vein on his neck, creeping up from underneath his shirt collar.


	5. Chapter 5

‘This is absolutely insane!’ Laussa let her fingertips run over the cold metal keyboard belonging to the giant, curved screen, surrounded by some of the fanciest lab equipment she had ever seen. ‘And I thought  _my_ lab was cool.’ ‘Oh, you’ve seen nothing yet. Come along this way. If you like that, I know you’ll like this part.’

As Stark and her were walking past high-tech machines that she could hardly even guess the purpose of, she suddenly heard Tony inhale sharply as he straightened out his shirt. ‘Listen, I’m sorry for my behavior upstairs.’ She was surprised at his apology, often having heard the media and also Thor talk about him in a way that made her think he wasn’t the most… apologetic person.

'Oh no, that’s no problem, I understand your reasons. I just hope you understand mine too.’ He nodded right away. ‘I do.’ Not needing a second to think about her intentions, she kept talking.  ‘And I’m here now, I’ll help you out where I can, though I hope you understand the Bifrost is my priority.’ He nodded again, a little smile on his lips. ‘Of course, I understand… Thanks.’

She nodded back, following him as they turned another corner, being greeted by some suspicious clanking noises.

‘Banner? You have company.’

She turned her head in the direction of the clattering, where promptly, Bruce Banner popped up from behind an untidy metal desk. He looked normal if a bit dishevelled, and she immediately let her eyes drift back down to his neck, which looked completely normal again now.  
Relieved, she smiled at him, and he smiled back shyly, lifting his hand in a quick wave, before occupying himself again with whatever he was working on.

Tony turned away from him, gesturing into the other direction. ‘We have a desk for you, if you want, a work station. Vision mentioned you’re a doctor?’ Laussa nodded, smiling at him hesitantly. ‘I am… I really appreciate it, Mr. Stark.’ ‘Oh please, call me Tony.’  
Out of the corner of her eye, Laussa saw Bruce roll his eyes in annoyance at Tony’s words and she had to suppress a burst of laughter, thankfully staying unnoticed by Tony. Bruce did notice, however, meeting her eyes with embarrassment for his obvious reaction, but she only gave him another heartwarming smile, then turning the corner, following Tony to the area, that was to be hers.

The 'desk’ was big, and, by normal people, would have probably been considered several desks arranged in almost a complete circle, completely adorned with holographic screens the whole way. In the middle was another table, almost like a kitchen isle, that looked almost exactly like the experimentation table she’d had in her own lab, complete with all of her equipment? She turned around to Stark in confusion. 'Thor might have told us what you could need.’ He said, his the corners of his mouth twitching up in amusement about her confused expression. 'Well… thank you very much! I had no idea he ever paid any attention to - ’

‘Mr. Stark.’ Friday’s monotone voice broke through the calm aura of the lab, making Tony turn towards the speakers on the ceiling. 'Director Fury requests your presence in the video conference room.’ He shook his head in mild annoyance and walked her back over to Bruce’s desk quickly. ‘Sorry kids, I have to bail on this. Banner, can you show her around?’

Banner once again popped up from behind the table, now holding a couple of cables that he quickly put down to brush his hair out of his face as he nodded nicely.

▪

They were casually strolling through the rows and rows of impressive machinery, ranging from almost an entire floor of the building dedicated to engineering to corners filled with incredibly specific equipment for other fields of science as Laussa listened to Bruce’s impressive scientific explanations.

After he’d explained some of the uses for the contraptions back on the floor his and Laussa’s workspaces were on, they turned another corner, he twisted his head towards her, his eyes roaming over her for a second, before asking: ‘So, what is your speciality?’ His voice was inquisitive, he sounded genuinely interested in her, but it still caught her off guard. ‘Sorry?’ She turned her head towards him, his fluffy dark curls falling deeper into his face as he looked down to the floor. ‘Your PhD, what is it in?’ ‘Oh…medicine.’ He looked at her then, his bright brown eyes filled with confusion. ‘I thought Thor mentioned you studied botany?’ ‘That too, I… I have a couple of PhDs. Medicine, Psychology, Neurobiology and Botany.’ He raised his eyebrows, pushing his glasses back up his nose. ‘4 PhD’s? That’s impressive.’ She felt herself blushing and gave him an appreciative smile. ‘Nothing compared to your accomplishments, doctor.’ His blush came even quicker, and he awkwardly took off his glasses to fold them together in his hands, ending the tour back at his desk. Putting the glasses down on the table, he looked back up at her, his eyes immediately sliding down to her neck.

‘Your…’ He motioned to his throat. ‘Your necklace is open.’ ‘Oh.’ She looked down, the silver pendant open, revealing the little painting inside. ‘Thank you, that happens sometimes, it’s quite old. My mother gave it to me when I left Asgard, back what must have been decades ago now.’ She smiled at the thought of her mother, then at the confused expression on Banner’s face. ‘Decades? How - how old are you?’ She couldn’t suppress a burst of laughter as she eyed the doctor. ‘You don’t ask a lady that, Dr. Banner!’ He chuckled a bit as well, but she saw him avoiding eye contact in embarrassment as he looked down at the ground. ‘Well, I suppose I might as well tell you, I’m a little bit older than 700 years. In human years I believe that would make me around… 22? I’m not sure about the conversion rates.’ ‘Wow…’ he mumbled, his gaze now back on the necklace as she fumbled with the back to get it off. Letting the silver chain slide in between her fingers, she held the pendant in the palm of her hand, showing it to Banner carefully.

‘It’s both my brothers just before I was born. This is Thor, as you could probably guess, and this is my other brother Loki.’ ‘Oh, I know him, too.’ He said, his tone suddenly dismissive and cold, and she quickly snapped the locket closed again, turning towards the doctor with a sad expression. ‘Yes, I heard what he did here… and to you especially. I apologize for that, I assure you, he spends his afterlife in remorse over all of it.’

Bruce’s eyes went big, now shaking his head, visibly at a loss for words, settling for: ‘I’m…I’m so sorry for your loss. I know he redeemed himself, it’s just - ‘’ She smiled at him sincerely, putting the necklace back around her neck as she tried reassuring him. ‘It’s alright, I promise, and thank you. I’m going to go, for now, Thor asked me to meet him up on the balcony. Have a good night, doctor, thank you for showing me around… It was very nice to meet you.’ Shooting him another genuine smile before turning the corner and entering the elevator, she left him alone, both smiling to themselves contently.

▪

The metal doors opened to another living room, completely enveloped in darkness. She entered the room, immediately drawn in by the giant window, similar to the other living room she’d seen, mesmerised by the dark blue night sky contrasting the shining, colourful city below.

Opening the glass door, she stepped out onto the huge balcony. Her eyes were glued to the calm sky full of stars, as she took a deep breath of cool air.

‘How are you feeling?’ She wasn’t surprised by his silent approach, but still flinched out of her trance to turn around towards her brother. He was back in his usual armour, the silver metal faintly reflecting the bright moonlight, his long, blonde hair brushing over his cheeks in the soft wind of the night. ‘It’s… overwhelming. Different.’ He nodded understandingly as he stepped closer. ‘Indeed. How are you feeling after your demonstration earlier?’ She smiled at his genuinely concerned expression, quickly reassuring him. ‘I’m fine, it wasn’t the first time since Asgard. It just tires me out so much every time, but other than that, I’m fine.’

Turning towards each other, Thor moved his hand closer to her face, dragging his fingertips softly against the skin of her forehead. The green magic surrounding her slowly faded away to reveal the thick, round scars the thorns had left on her forehead as a slight breeze blew her natural dark blonde curls into her field of vision, but she was quick to brush them behind her ear.

As he softly retreated, the green illusion enveloped her again. ‘You look so much like mother.’ He said, gazing upon her in awe, and Laussa could feel her heart ache at the thought of her mother. ‘And you are so alike her too, just as strong as her.’ She felt a sudden pressure on her chest, guilt overcoming her. ‘I miss her so much.’ she whispered quietly, hoping he heard her. ‘I do too. And father - ‘  _No._ She shook her head, interrupting him. ‘You know my relationship with father.’ ‘I know.’

There was a long silence, as she turned back towards the view of the city, leaning her arms on the railing of the balcony, lost in thought.

‘You know it wasn’t your fault, right, Laussa?’

_Oh no, please don’t._

‘What, mother? No, I know. Even if I had been there, I didn’t have enough control over my power back then, I couldn’t have done anything except get killed as well. If you mean father, nobody could have saved him, his time had come. As for Surtur, though, I do suspect, while indirectly, that was most definitely at least partly my fault.’

‘You know I’m talking about Loki.’

At the mentioning of his name, she immediately felt tears stinging in her eyes, forcing her to take a deep breath. The air of the night that had, mere seconds ago, felt so calming to her now burned in her lungs with every breath, making her hunch over the railing in pain.

‘I’m tired, Thor.’

‘Laussa…’

‘Could you show me, where I can sleep?’

She didn’t need to look at him to note the resigned expression, fully audible in his quiet answer. ‘Of course, I’ll show you.’


	6. Chapter 6

She pressed the button to the lab with her elbow as she entered the elevator, the steaming hot cups in her hand fogging up the closing metal doors right in front of her. Slightly worried, she let her eyes roam over her reflection in the mirror-wall, now holding both cups by their handle in her left hand to use the other to fix her messy ponytail, that had come loose.

The grey shirt she wore was fitting, but not too tight to not look casual, her black pants sitting tightly around the curves of her body. She let the green shield around her dissolve momentarily, her dark ponytail vanishing to reveal the dark blonde, curly bun she wore her natural hair in, small strands of curls falling onto her forehead around the dark, round scars her brother had seen only yesterday, and the bumpy scarred wound on the side of her neck, where she had stabbed herself yet again just the day before.

Slowly, she let her fingers hover over the half-open wound, feeling the heat pool just underneath the surface. She could see the fire move like lava underneath her skin, glowing all over her neck and chest.  _Shit._ The stress of the changing environment and new people all around her would make it necessary to use the stone more often again.

The powerful ring of the elevator yanked her out of her thoughts, and she instinctively let the green magic envelop her once again before taking a quick breath, entering the lab.  
The loud sound the elevator had made reverberated through the large, open laboratory with the high ceilings, echoing back from the glass instruments on the table next to her. She looked around in awe once more, this time seeing the lab in natural sunlight that was streaming in through another one of the usual giant windows of the house. The mostly metal and glass instruments shone in the warm morning sunlight, casting long shadows on the surfaces behind them. Laussa slowly strode forwards, admiring the craftsmanship on the machines and inventions around just the entrance of one of the floors in this building, that was dedicated to science.

‘I’m busy, Tony!’ Banner’s raspy voice broke through the serene silence of the room, making her jump, almost spilling some of the hot coffee on herself. He wasn’t expecting her, she thought to herself with a smile.  
Laussa quickly made her way over to where she now knew his desk to be, her footsteps also echoing loudly, as everything did down here.

As she turned the corner to his area, she locked her eyes on him immediately. He was sat in a swivel chair in front of his large desk, monitors all around him, most of them showing different versions of what seemed like a blueprint, others showing texts and documents she couldn’t decipher from her distance.   
He was leaning forward onto the table, his right hand rubbing his face, pinching the bridge of his nose, as his other hand was holding his glasses, absentmindedly opening and closing the sides in a slow rhythm. He seemed to be wearing the same clothes she saw him in yesterday, his blue button-down no longer tucked into his pants, but loosely peeking from under his wrinkled lab-coat, his hair now messy and ruffled as it spilled over his forehead.

‘I didn’t mean to disturb you, Dr. Banner.’

Bruce flinched, immediately turning around to her, his eyes now wide open, staring at her like a deer in the headlights. Her breath hitched in her throat as she saw him from a different angle, noticing his shirt that was not only no longer tucked into the brown dress pants, but also had more buttons undone, revealing his pale, trained chest. She got a quick glance at the dark brown curls of chest hair before he hastily brought up his hands to button up his shirt again and fix his hair as best he could.   
‘No, no, you didn’t, I just… I didn’t expect you.’ he said nervously, quickly tucking his shirt back into his pants and pulling his coat back on completely.

‘I brought you something, Clint told me this is how you like your coffee? Be careful, though, it’s hot.’ He looked at her in confusion and surprise as she walked closer and set down one of the cups on his desk carefully. ‘Th-thank you, that’s very kind.’ His smile was honest, giving her a chance to marvel over his deep brown eyes again, memorising the bright, little flickers of gold behind the overpowering exhaustion he was radiating.

‘Are you alright? You look as if you haven’t slept at all.’ The doctor quickly shook his head, now breaking the eye contact, looking back down onto the glasses in his hand, reaching his other hand out to grab the steaming cup of coffee. ‘I’m all right, no reason for concerns, nothing unusual. Thank you.’

Still concerned, but aware he didn’t want her to prod further she nodded at him, moving over to her work station.

▪

It took her a while to get acquainted with everything, the technology being so much more advanced than anything she’d ever handled before, but she was able to set up everything she needed to transfer all of her research over to this side of the earth. Hacking had never been her strong suit, especially not hacking through her own security system, but in the hurry that Thor had made her leave in, she had been forced to leave her lab without transferring her data into the cloud, as she usually did, so she had to hack back into her other computer to access all of her files.

It took a long time, but when she finally had found an access point to her old desktop, she gave a sigh of content, immediately freezing to hope the doctor hadn’t heard it. She had been down in the lab for a couple of hours at this point, sitting only about 30 feet away from where he was working, hearing only the occasional clanking or typing noise, sometimes a little groan as if he was in pain. Laussa was sure he hadn’t slept the night before, given his looks as she had first seen him today, so he was probably suffering from a splitting headache.

_Why was she thinking about him so much?_

Shaking her head, she decided to get on with work.

She had now copied most of her files onto the new device, only her ‘highly confidential’ ones were yet to come. As she finished her last lines of input to transfer those as well, suddenly, all of the screens around her started flashing red, some of them having a big ‘Access Denied’-texts written on them, as an alarm started going off. In a panic, she quickly tried to fix her mistake, then, as she gave up on that tried to just cancel the transfer, but nothing worked as she frantically started to manually override security, again and again, the blaring alarm still going off in the background

‘Do you need some help?’ She heard Bruce’s voice shout over the loud signal. ‘No, thanks, I totally have this under control.’ The confidence in her voice faltered and she heard him step closer almost immediately, felt him watch over her actions, apparently understanding, what she was doing. ‘Laussa, hey, you don’t need to do all that manually, Tony’s got this all handled automatically.’ He stepped right next to her, crouching down, now speaking at a normal volume since he was right next to her ear. ‘May I? You just have to…’ She shuddered, feeling his warm breath on her ear as he leaned over her, his fingers brushing against hers as he took control of the keyboard. Little jolts of electricity shot through her body at the feel of his skin on hers, and with a few shortcuts, he had cut off the blaring alarm. Suddenly, there was a small progress bar, all of the confidential files now flowing onto the new device. He retreated, taking a small step back and Laussa turned around to him.

‘Wow, th-thank you! I had no idea, thanks, doctor.’ He smiled at her and her chest suddenly felt heavy, her heart stuttering as she took him in again, his undoubtedly attractive experience, the kindness in his eyes as he looked at her, a faint blush on his cheeks.  
 ‘Oh, no problem…’ His voice was quiet, his gaze now distracted, focused on something behind her.

Laussa spun back around, the newly copied files of research, experiments and analyses opening on different parts of the screen, big enough so he had definitely seen parts of it.  _Shit._ She focussed on him out of the corner of her eye, his posture was now rigid, his head averted. ‘I’m gonna go back to work, just call, if you need any help.’ With that, he left, not even a glance back in her direction as he practically fled the scene.

She turned her attention back to the screens, now completely filled up with the files she had most recently worked on, prominently featuring research on Asgardian afterlife, wormholes and time travel…

. _..which Banner had definitely seen._


	7. Chapter 7

The scattered golden sunlight crept through the thick leaves of the old oak tree, throwing calming rays of warmth onto Laussa’s skin as she lounged in the dewy, summer-green grass beneath. A few culms were brushing against the naked skin of her lower leg, but she didn’t feel the tickling sensation, too absorbed in the view of the world around her, enveloped in the incomparable golden glow she’d only ever experienced here on Asgard. 

A slight breeze brushed her soft, blonde curls into her face, making her turn her head away from the draft, surprisedly laying eyes on her teenage brother leaning against the ancient tree behind her. ‘What are you doing, sister?’ His voice was calm as his dark hair was blown out of his face by a gust of wind, his green cape flowing behind him as he stepped closer to her.

‘Just thinking.’ His leather boots squeaked against the ground as he crouched down next to her. ‘Aren’t you a bit young for that?’ She gave him an offended look. ‘That’s mean, I’m already 6!’ Laussa hit his shoulder playfully. Loki, however, let himself fall over and roll down the hill, his cape wrapping around him in the process, making her laugh almost hysterically as he struggled to get up. 

‘You dare to attack me? You have no idea who you’re dealing with!’ He rose his arms, conjuring up a bunch of toy knives, sending them soaring towards her. She rose her hands as well, snapping her fingers together, all of the knives promptly turning into small, shiny bubbles, rising up into the golden sky. Loki faked a scared expression as Laussa got up to run towards him, fleeing back towards the tree. ‘Where did you get those powers? You can’t be stronger than me!’ He ran around the tree, still shouting, her right on his heels. ‘Have mercy, little girl!’ As she rounded the tree, the dark-haired god had vanished, and she stopped to listen for any movement around her except the lush leaves above her faintly rustling in the wind.

‘You’d have mercy with me, wouldn’t you?’ The voice of her oldest brother surprised her as he stepped out from behind the tree. His straight, blond hair barely reached his shoulders, stands of it blowing into his eyes, his red cloak waving behind him dramatically.   
Now, Laussa might have been 6 years old, but she wasn’t easily fooled, especially not with a brother that was the god of mischief. Taking a small breath, she cocked her head to the side slightly, looking her oldest brother deep in the eyes ‘What do you think,  _Loki_?’ 

He let go of the green facade immediately, running off again. She tried to get him, but this time she had to stop after a while, out of breath, leaning forward while propping her hands on her knees, as she slowly gained control of her erratic breathing again.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him, his black hair now falling into his face as he peeked out from the other side of the oak tree, also breathing heavily. She saw him shudder slightly as he tried to calm down and took a deep breath before talking.  
‘I know father told you, not to play with me anymore. He thinks I’m a bad influence on you.’ His voice was bitter, and she breathed in once more, standing up straight again. ‘Well, he’s wrong then.’ Loki’s frown turned into a smile, one of his rarer, genuine smiles, and he vanished behind the tree again. Suddenly, Odin’s head appeared on the other side of the tree, an angry expression on his face as he shouted: ‘How dare you speak the truth, girl!’ She laughed at Loki’s illusion, shouting back at ‘her father’: ‘Well, what are you gonna do, send me back into that box again?’ 

Her own laughter distracted her from the transformation, but all of a sudden, Loki was himself again, his features overcome with a sad expression. She was by his side in the blink of an eye, hugging his torso as tightly as she could. He hesitated, his sorrowful eyes now on her, laying his hand on her back gently.   
‘Not so tough now, warrior.’ she laughed, observing his facial expression change back from sad to smiling, then a wicked smirk taking over. She felt him transforming right under her hands before she could see it, green light enveloping him as he shrunk out of his humanoid shape. When Laussa could see through the blinding light again, she just barely saw the long, green snake on the ground in front of her before letting out a shriek of terror. ‘Eek! Stop it, you know I hate snakes!’ He hissed at her, his slick body then quickly slithering into the high grass next to them, effectively vanishing completely. 

The atmosphere shifted quickly when suddenly, dark clouds gathered under the golden sky and a distant thunder dove everything into a darker mood. Slightly scared, she started calling out for her brother. ‘Loki?’ The rain started just seconds afterwards, big, heavy drops of cold water hitting her and the environment around her. ‘Loki, where are you?’ The high grass rustled around her, but she couldn’t spot him anywhere. ‘This isn’t funny, Loki.’ She shouted now, the fear clutching her tightly as she frantically looked around her.

Then, there it was. An ear-splitting scream of pain in the distance. She felt a sharp pain shoot through her heart immediately. Loki. She raced back to the oak tree, knowing instinctively the scream had come from here. ‘Loki! Where are - ’

Loki stood there, right next to the tree. He looked older, an adult, his longer, wet hair and clothes were clinging to his body, his posture rigid, as his hand dipped down to his chest. She looked down in shock as she saw the blood pooling on the front of his tunic, running down his torso, and he collapsed onto the ground. ‘Loki!’ She ran to his side, taking his hand into hers, her other hand brushing the wet hair out of his pale face. ‘No no no no no, Loki, what happened?.’ Her hands sought out the wound intuitively, pushing down onto the long stab wound with all the pressure, she could muster up. ‘Stay with me, Loki.’ she whispered, trying to stay calm as her heart beat out of her chest in panic.

He pulled her bloodstained hands away from his chest, taking them into his. As tears streamed down her face, he rose his other hand to her cheek, his cold, shaking fingers brushing over her skin softly, forcing her to look up at his face, clearly contorted in pain. ‘Please don’t, Loki, please don’t leave me alone.’ She whispered frantically, his hand gripping onto her face tighter, using all his remaining strength to pull himself up to her, face to face, then turning to her ear.

**‘Then why didn’t you save me?'**

▪

Laussa woke up, panting, feeling the tears that covered her face, soaking the thin shirt she was wearing. In an attempt to calm down, she tried opening her eyes, but her body didn’t move, didn’t respond to her cues. Oh no. Sleep paralysis was nothing entirely new to her, but it had certainly become a rarer occasion over the past year. 

After slightly calming down her irregular breathing, she finally managed to open her eyes, looking up at the dark ceiling, lit only by the faint moonlight coming through the window to her side. The panic of her nightmare still enveloped her, making it more difficult to try to move in any way, so she tried her breathing exercises. Slow, deliberate breaths, slowing down her heartbeat in the process. Then she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye.

Her eyes snapped towards the right side of the bed, where she’d registered the motion, her breathing stopping altogether abruptly.   
  
There he was. There was Loki, sitting right beside her bed, dressed only in a withered black suit, his hair long and messy, his eyes tired, but focused on her with concern. She let out a shriek, her breathing suddenly erratic, her body now twitching wildly, desperately trying to move. 

‘Shhhhhhh.’ he whispered, now leaning forward, his black hair falling in his face as he did. ‘Breathe, slowly.’ He rose his hand to her cheek, letting his fingers brush the hair out of her face as she whimpered. ‘In, and out.’ She could see the scarred, dark burn marks on his arm, perfectly shaped in a handprint - her handprint. He was so close, she could smell him, feel the coldness he always radiated. Looking back up at him once more, he smiled at her sadly, almost exactly as he had in her dream, and, in the blink of an eye, he was gone. 

▪

As she splashed the cold water on her face, she could already tell it wasn’t going to help. The images of her dream were still so vivid in her mind, so lifelike as if it had really just happened to her. She dried her face, turning to look at her phone. 3:51 am. Thor had returned to New Asgard a few days ago, and she had half in mind to go there now, just to not be alone after a dream like that. But what would she even tell him? That she had had a nightmare? That she had seen Loki sitting by her bed? No, that was not an option. She wasn’t a child anymore.   
She left her room to go to the kitchen, quietly making herself a cup of coffee, her mind drifting back to the doctor. What if she went to see him? He would understand, wouldn’t he? It had been almost three weeks since that incident down in the lab where he’d helped her. He would listen, she knew. Taking her cup and warming her hands on it, she entered the elevator, her finger hovering over the button to Banner’s floor for a while.   
 _She couldn’t burden him with her problems, he had enough to bear on his own._

_▪_

Laussa let out a sigh of relief as the metal doors opened to the now familiar view of the lab. The lights around her switched on automatically as she walked in, but she quickly noticed that some of them hadn’t been turned off, as bright lights were emitting from Banner’s area.  _Was he still here?_ Trying to be as silent as she could, she snuck over towards his desk, and sure enough, there he was. 

He was sitting in his chair, slouched forward, his head lying on his arms, fast asleep on the table. She stepped closer, an affectionate smile on her face as she regarded the attractive man in such a vulnerable position. 

He was wearing a thin, wrinkled grey sweater, and his dark curls moved with every breath he took, brushing over his forehead. He probably hadn’t slept for days, as usual…  
Laussa hurried to her desk, picking up the soft fleece blanket she kept there for long nights, rushing back to Banner. Slowly, she walked closer to him, wrapping the blanket around him gently. He stirred, his eyes flickering open and up to meet hers. His voice was raspy as he spoke, and Laussa felt her heart beat faster. ‘What are you doing?’ She smiled at him, fighting the urge to brush the loose curl out of his face. ‘I think you should go to bed, Dr. Banner, it is very late.’ He shook his head sleepily. ‘No, no, I was working on something here.’ He sat up quickly, motioning to get back to work, only groggily pushing his keyboard to the side and knocking a mug off his desk. She moved quickly, her reflexes sharp, catching it before it hit the ground. She put it back on the desk as she suppressed a peal of laughter. ‘Come on, Dr. Banner, I’ll get you up to your room.’ 

He was shaky on his legs, clearly still half asleep as they reached the elevator. She waited, but when it seemed like he couldn’t hold himself up anymore, she wrapped her arm around his back supporting him. She inhaled sharply as she felt the taut muscles of his back through his shirt, only gripping tighter onto him as he drowsily lifted his arm around her shoulders, automatically pulling her closer to him.   
It felt almost intimate, standing so close next to each other, their limbs entangled, enjoying each other’s company, but she knew he was barely conscious anymore. She couldn’t help herself and let her hand wander upwards from his waist to his pronounced shoulder blades and the firm muscles surrounding them, only snapping out of it when the elevator stopped abruptly.

The doors opened to virtual darkness, no lights turning on in the room, as they entered. Her free hand fumbled for a light switch unsuccessfully for a moment, until she gave up. She imagined this floor would be essentially the same as hers, and they found their way to his room quickly with the help of her phone’s flashlight.   
She let him fall off of her shoulder onto his unmade bed, then let her eyes wander around his room. It was bare, pretty much like hers, no personal belongings anywhere except for a few books on one of the tables and a few candles. Not wanting to turn on the main light, she walked over to the table, snapping her fingers above the candlesticks, igniting them immediately, illuminating the room in a dim, pleasant light. 

Turning back around to the man on the bed, she noticed he hadn’t moved at all. As she had let him fall onto the bed, his thin, grey sweater had ridden up his torso, his trained body and the faint line of dark hair continuing down under his dress pants now clearly visible in the faint light. She shook off the urge to stare longer, quickly walking back to the bed, to nudge his legs up onto the soft mattress, taking off his shoes in the process. She had just pushed him to lie on the bed completely now, as he groaned softly. She couldn’t suppress her laughter this time. ‘It’s like you’re drunk.’ Her words made him chuckle as well. ‘I feel drunk, too.’ He opened his eyes now, slowly, his golden brown eyes looking even more captivating in the warm candlelight. ‘You’ll be fine, doctor.’ she said, breaking free from their eye contact to grab the blanket she had brought with her, gently throwing it over him. As she turned to leave the room, he grabbed her wrist, his touch sending tingles through her body. ‘Laussa.’ She turned her head back around to him, his eyes back open, looking at her, his curls falling back onto his forehead. ‘Yes?’ He took a shuddered breath, talking slowly, but sincerely.   
‘I’m really happy you’re here. I like… I like having you around.’ She smiled, her heart suddenly beating much faster as she felt butterflies in her stomach. ‘Thank you, Dr. Banner.’ she said and nodded, now once more turning to leave as he softly let go of her arm. ‘Call me Bruce, please. I should have said that much earlier.’ Her smile grew wider. ‘Okay, Bruce, have a good rest.’ His delicate snoring filled the room mere seconds afterwards, and she only turned back around to him when she’d reached the door. 

He looked incredibly peaceful right here in the soft candlelight, and she was overwhelmed by the overbearing desire to stay, just lay next to him, maybe cuddle up against him. She shook her head again, closing the door gently behind her, her subconscious still hard at work. 

_Maybe one day._


End file.
